The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education has directed its staff to draft a resolution opposing Proposition 19, a November ballot initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults. John Caldecott, the district's executive director of human resources, told board members at Tuesday night's meeting that he had some concerns with the referendum's potential impact on the district. Mainly, he said, the way in which the proposition is currently written, the school district would not be able to prevent a school bus driver from getting behind the wheel of a bus after having used marijuana.

By and large, local education leaders say they are opposed to the two propositions.On the special election ballot Tuesday are two propositions that could significantly alter the course of education in Newport-Mesa and across California. Here, educators have given both measures an overwhelming response: keep things the way they are. While the Measure F school bond, which would use $282 million of taxpayers' money to modernize schools, is the dominant issue for Newport-Mesa in the special election, voters will also rule on Propositions 74 and 76 -- the former a proposal to change the rules of teacher tenure, the latter an attempt to give the governor more unilateral control of spending.

Still fuming over orders to stand in the background of a gubernatorial news conference while brush fires raged around the county, Burbank and Glendale fire departments came out in opposition Thursday to a ballot proposition they claim would stifle their political involvement. If approved by voters in the special Nov. 8 election, Proposition 75 would require unions representing public employees to get permission from members before spending dues for political purposes.

Lost among the statewide propositions concerning Indian gaming and the race for the presidency of the United States is a little-known proposed amendment to the state's Constitution known as Proposition 59. While it has been overshadowed by bigger and sexier campaigns, the truth is this initiative strikes a blow against those who would deny the people's right to know what the government is doing. Proposition 59's passage would strengthen the Ralph M. Brown Act and the California Public Records Act and make it a state constitutional right for the public and journalists, acting on behalf of the public, to access governmental meetings and governmental documents.

When the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage this summer, a flood of local gay couples rushed to the courthouse in Santa Ana to get marriage licenses. But even as they celebrated, many gay newlyweds remained skeptical that their marriages would continue to be recognized, as political and religious leaders statewide called for a ballot proposition eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. After the initiative — Proposition 8 — passed by a roughly 52-48 margin, some of the local couples that were married in the few-month window of legality still have their legal certificates, but many say that the papers have lost their psychological significance.

President Bill Clinton endorsed a slate of Democratic congressional candidates in a rally Tuesday night at UC Irvine. More than 4,000 attended the "California's Voice" event at the Bren Events Center, where the two-term president campaigned for 26th District candidate Julia Brownley of Ventura, 47th District candidate Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach, 52nd District candidate Scott Peters of San Diego, 36th District candidate Dr. Raul Ruiz of Palm Springs...

While everyone in America has the right to have their political voice heard and the right to attempt to qualify a ballot measure, the results of two separate elections in the past eight years, Proposition 22 in 2000 and Proposition 8 in 2008, were clear. California voters do not want to change the definition of traditional marriage. In fact, Proposition 8 passed with the majority of the vote in an election with the largest turnout statewide since 1976. Two more elections would likely yield the same results as the two previous elections.

In recent years, California's education budget has taken more than $20 billion in cuts. Anyone who claims wasteful spending is the only problem isn't seeing the entire picture. We have a revenue problem too. According to Education Weekly, California ranks 47 out of 50 states in per-pupil expenditures. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that more than 470,000 students can't get the classes they need at the community college level because of budget and class-section cuts. Furlough days, pay cuts and freezes, increased class sizes, increased employee contributions to benefits and retirement, reductions in programs, et cetera are all common for education workers throughout the state.

Put on your thinking caps -- it's going to be a busy election season this fall for Lagunans. With the City Council setting a Tuesday, Dec. 13 date on the question of whether to increase the city sales tax by one-half cent to raise money for disaster relief, there will be three -- or more -- special elections in the next three months. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, voters will be asked to make their picks for who should fill the 48th District Congressional seat vacated by Chris Cox. A total of 17 candidates are asking for your vote, including 10 Republicans, four Democrats and one each Libertarian, Green and American Independent.

The Newport Beach City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on whether to oppose a state ballot measure that would steer more people convicted of drug-related crimes into treatment instead of serving time behind bars. City officials including Police Chief John Klein and Councilman Keith Curry said Proposition 5 would siphon more recovering drug addicts into Newport’s numerous sober-living homes through state alternative sentencing programs. “It would further drive demand for residential recovery and further impact our community in terms of the number of people seeking treatment,” Curry said.

After years of cost cutting and stagnant hiring, the Coast Community College District will hire 15 full-time faculty members in the next school year. Board trustees have discussed increasing full-time faculty since September, when they tasked Chancellor Andrew Jones with developing a hiring plan. The district organized a "consultation council" consisting of faculty members, union and student representatives, and classified staff to assist with the development of the plan. District officials and board trustees met Wednesday night for a study session to discuss the council's findings.

The Costa Mesa Charter Committee on Wednesday asked city staff for more information on a seemingly radical idea: the city forfeiting its share of property taxes. Committee member Hank Panian's suggestion for the city's charter, as it takes shape, aims to address the inequality created since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. Under the measure, property tax is assessed based upon when a property was acquired, benefiting longtime homeowners. Property is reassessed to full market value only when sold.

The sheer volume of legislation flowing through the state Capitol at any given time can be overwhelming — Gov. Jerry Brown signed 800 bills into law this year alone. But if there's one issue Californians should know about if they own or plan on owning a home or business, it is the threat to Proposition 13. Proposition 13, which the people of California passed with overwhelming support in 1978, today protects all property owners in the state. This landmark constitutional amendment limits property tax to 1% of the assessed value of a property at the time of purchase and caps increases at 2% annually.

For the first time in three years, Orange Coast College and Coastline Community College students returned to campus Monday morning to more classes and sharply reduced class wait-lists. Fewer classes and lengthy wait-lists have been frustrating realities for Coast Community College District students since fall 2010, in large part because of budget cuts handed down from the state, said Richard Pagel, OCC's vice president of administrative services. The district is able to open its doors to more students with the passage of Proposition 30, which guarantees additional funding to California's community college system through temporarily raised sales taxes and taxes on income above $250,000, Pagel said.

Orange Coast College has more than doubled its course offering for the 2013 summer session compared to summer 2012 thanks to Proposition 30, according to college officials. Revenue from the tax initiative may also restore winter classes at OCC, Golden West College in Huntington Beach, and Coastline College with campuses in Newport Beach and Westminster. OCC's summer classes increased by more than 150% for the session that starts June 17, according to Coast spokeswoman Martha Parham.

Just over 19% of registered Orange County voters had cast ballots by 3 p.m. Tuesday, a notable drop from the 2008 elections, county officials said. Four years ago, about 35% of the registered voters had voted by 3 p.m. An increase in vote-by-mail ballots this year may have had an effect, officials noted, with 22,159 ballots received in Tuesday's mail. Despite the lower turnout, enthusiastic voters still livened the polls across the county, including first-time voter Minerva Mendez, 19, and her mother, Felipa Mendez, 51, at a polling station in Santa Ana. The mother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico at age 16, said she valued her right to vote and was proud of her daughter for exercising it. They are Obama supporters.

While we often divorce our faith from the political process, the truth of the matter is that our faith calls us to address the deepest concerns of our society that often necessitate political action. For this reason, following the weekend Interfaith Care of Creation conference at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, I joined participants from the symposium across the street at a demonstration in support of Proposition 37 (the Right to Know) and Proposition 39 (Close the Loophole)

President Bill Clinton endorsed a slate of Democratic congressional candidates in a rally Tuesday night at UC Irvine. More than 4,000 attended the "California's Voice" event at the Bren Events Center, where the two-term president campaigned for 26th District candidate Julia Brownley of Ventura, 47th District candidate Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach, 52nd District candidate Scott Peters of San Diego, 36th District candidate Dr. Raul Ruiz of Palm Springs...